Strategic Thinking Begins: Building Foundations with Professor Nigel Denscombe

The Spring term for the weekday MSc programs opened with Strategic Thinking, led by Professor Nigel Denscombe, a global management practitioner and educator with experience across North America, Europe, and Asia. Bringing a strong real-world perspective to the classroom, he challenges students to think beyond theory and focus on how strategy is developed and implemented. As a joint course for the MiM and MSBA programs, it brought together a diverse group of students, many meeting for the first time, who were ready to engage in discussion from the outset.

Early sessions introduced the foundations of strategic thinking through case-based learning, focusing on how to define problems, assess opportunities, and develop coherent strategic responses. Discussions encouraged students to question assumptions and approach business challenges from multiple perspectives.

On the second day, the focus shifted to globalization and organizational change through the Rakuten Englishnization case, examining both the strategic rationale and the challenges of implementation in a Japanese context. This led into group presentations on the third day, where students proposed how similar policies could be introduced in other organizations without alienating non-English-speaking employees.

As the first course in the program, Strategic Thinking sets the tone for an active, discussion-driven learning environment, emphasizing process, perspective, and practical application as foundations for future study.